Owner still waiting for answers on cause of fire

Valley Lumber Yard owner Peter Chalmers is frustrated a report into the cause of the Burnside fire, which destroyed $300,000 worth of his wood, has still not been released, more than four months later. Photo: Gerard O'Brien
Valley Lumber Yard owner Peter Chalmers is frustrated a report into the cause of the Burnside fire, which destroyed $300,000 worth of his wood, has still not been released, more than four months later. Photo: Gerard O'Brien
Four months after fire tore through his Burnside lumber yard, destroying 2000 tonnes of wood, Peter Chalmers is still waiting to be told how and why it happened.

An investigation into the cause of the January fire, which also destroyed buildings and forestry, has been completed but Fire Emergency New Zealand has not publicly released the findings.

Until he had read the report, Mr Chalmers said he could not make a decision about insurance claims or any legal action.

About $300,000 worth of stock at Valley Lumber Yard was destroyed.

''I've still got a big mess there I've got to clean up, which is going to cost a lot to clean up, and a lot of my capital is tied up in the stock I lost.''

Mr Chalmers and his insurance agent both made Official Information Act requests in April to have the report released.

Under the Act, any responses should be given as soon as is practicable and within 20 days.

The Otago Daily Times has also requested a copy of the report.

''It's just been a really long time. My agent put the application in on the 9th of April and was told it would be 20 working days. Well, that's long gone and we still haven't got it now.''

The Burnside fire burns through Valley Lumberyard on McLeod's Rd in January. Photo: Chris & Alex Derrett
The Burnside fire burns through Valley Lumberyard on McLeod's Rd in January. Photo: Chris & Alex Derrett

Mr Chalmers said he had his own theory about why it had taken so long for the report to be released to him, but for now he was more interested in reading the report.

Principal rural fire officer Graeme Still said there were administrative reasons why the report had not been released, and he expected Mr Chalmers would receive a copy by early next week.

Mr Still would not provide any specific details, but said the report was wide-ranging and thorough and would provide a clear indication of what caused the fire.

tim.miller@odt.co.nz

 

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